Mahabharata 9.55.32 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 55, Shloka 32
Vāg-yuddha and Nimitta-darśana before the Gadāyuddha
Verbal Duel and Omens
अन्योन्यमभिधावन्तौ मत्ताविव महाद्विपौ । वासितासंगमे दृप्ती शरदीव मदोत्कटौ
anyonyam abhidhāvantau mattāv iva mahādvipau | vāsitāsaṅgame dṛptī śaradīva madotkaṭau ||
Dijo Sañjaya: Como dos grandes elefantes, ebrios de celo, que se lanzan el uno contra el otro—orgullosos y frenéticos, como en el otoño cuando corren hacia la unión con una hembra dispuesta—, así aquellos dos héroes, exultantes en su propia fuerza, avanzaron para chocar. Cada uno, domador de enemigos, clavó en el otro una mirada airada, como si vomitara el veneno ardiente de la ira, cual dos serpientes.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how pride in strength and unchecked anger can drive warriors into destructive collision, likening martial fury to animal rut and serpent-venom—an implicit warning that passion and wrath, when ungoverned by dharma, intensify violence and cloud discernment.
Sañjaya describes two opposing champions rushing at each other for a direct clash. Their mutual charge and hostile staring are portrayed through vivid similes: musth-maddened elephants seeking combat and serpents spewing the poison of blazing rage.
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